According to OSHA and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board1 over the last 35 years more than 450 accidents involving dust have killed nearly 130 workers and injured more than 800. Between the years of 2008 and 2012 alone, a total of 50 combustible dust accidents2 occurred resulting in 29 fatalities and 161 injuries. Given these grim statistics, a lot of attention and effort has been spent over recent years on highlighting the risks of combustible dust, educating the public, and developing non-disruptive, cost-effective solutions that ensure life safety in the workplace Read more…
NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation hosted this year’s conference on suppression and detection in Orlando, Florida. Presented were the latest research and developments in the fire protection industry that included a diverse cross-section of subjects, such as the effect of ceiling fans on smoke alarm performance, corrosion inhibition of dry and pre-action fire suppression systems, effect of obstructions on ESFR sprinklers, fire suppression in Li-Ion based electric vehicles, and many more. Read more…
ESFR protection of exposed expanded Group A plastics is currently outside the scope of NFPA 13. Attempting to fill this gap, NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation set out to develop experience with these types of commodities and gather data by initiating large-scale fire tests. The goal of these tests was to evaluate the necessary level of protection when ESFR sprinklers in rack storage configurations with no in-rack sprinkler protection are applied. Read more…
The risk of asphyxiation, a condition of insufficient supply of oxygen to the body, is difficult to assess because of many factors that can contribute to an oxygen deficiency. However, these factors can be measured and used to calculate the risks that can lead to the hazardous conditions that would result in potential asphyxiation. The results can be used to make decisions about the installation, storage, and use of compressed gases as prescribed by state and local fire and building codes. Read more…
The International Code Council is offering free access to their I-Codes, books and Standards. Previously these documents were only available in internet (html) format. Now the International Code Council has expanded this great service of offering free access to their resources by making many of these documents available in downloadable PDF versions, that are fully searchable and have only a few limitations, such that there is no print capability. Read more…
Klausbruckner & Associates is announcing a new High-Piled Storage seminar for August 20th 2014. This seminar will provide a detailed overview of the latest fire and building code provisions associated with high-piled combustible storage. Discussed will be changes to the 2013 Edition of the California Fire Code (CFC) and potential changes to the 2016 CFC, as well as major changes to the 2013 NFPA 13 and potential changes to the 2016 NFPA 13. Read more…
The 2013 Edition of NFPA 13 will be adopted by many states and jurisdictions in January 2014. In this article we will be focusing on major changes for this latest edition of NFPA 13 and specifically in the application and use of ESFR (Early Suppression, Fast Response) sprinkler systems. Read more…
How much do you know about fire sprinkler systems? If you are a business or a building owner, an architect, or a member of the construction industry, you may be interested in some of these commonly asked questions on sprinkler protection. Explore with us sprinkler terminology, application and use of various types of sprinkler heads, issues arising from change in occupancy or change in use, solutions to common problems, and some simple ‘rules of thumb’ Read more…
Explore with us in this extended and updated article the do’s and don’ts of ESFR sprinkler systems. We added a section on the changes of the most recent 2010 edition of FM 8-9 by FM Global, and a FAQ on the instances where in-rack sprinklers are required when the building is equipped with an ESFR system Read more…
The 2012 Fire Protection Research Foundation Medal was awarded to the research project on “High Volume/Low Speed Fans and Sprinkler Operation”. This two-phase project was conducted to study the impact of High Volume Low Speed Fans (HVLS) on fire safety. Issues raised on their usage as they relate to general sprinkler performance Read more…
